Press Release
Austen Hacker Explains Why Healthcare Trust Starts With Everyday Conversations
-
Arkansas pharmacist Austen Hacker shares how small, consistent interactions build the foundation for patient safety and better outcomes across pharmacy settings.
Arkansas, USA, Aug 18, 2026, ZEX PR WIRE — Maria came to the pharmacy counter for the third time that month. Each visit, she asked the same questions about her medications. To an outsider, it might have looked like frustration on both sides. But the pharmacist saw something different: a patient trying to regain control after a frightening diagnosis. Instead of rushing through the consultation, he took five extra minutes to explain how the medications worked together, wrote down timing instructions, and asked what worried her most. Two months later, Maria told him she finally felt confident managing her treatment. That conversation became the turning point.
Austen Hacker has spent years witnessing moments like this across retail, hospital, institutional, ambulatory, and oncology pharmacy settings. He has opened and managed an oncology pharmacy, established a surgery center pharmacy, and directed multi-facility pharmacy services for Mississippi County Hospital System. Throughout his career, he has seen that clinical expertise alone does not create trust. Trust grows when patients feel heard, understood, and respected.
The Invisible Work Behind Every Prescription
Most people see a prescription bag and assume the work is done. They do not see the series of decisions that happen before that bag reaches their hands.
“People see the prescription bag. They do not always see the thirty decisions that happened before that bag reached the patient,” Hacker says.
Those decisions include checking for drug interactions, verifying dosages, confirming insurance coverage, and flagging potential safety concerns. In hospital and oncology settings, the complexity increases. Pharmacists collaborate with physicians, nurses, and specialists to adjust treatments based on lab results, patient response, and side effects.
“One of the most useful things a pharmacist can do is catch the problem before it becomes a hospital problem. Sometimes that is a wrong dose. Sometimes it is a patient who stopped taking a medication because it made them dizzy. Sometimes it is a simple misunderstanding that can become serious if no one asks the right question,” Hacker explains.
This level of attention requires more than technical knowledge. It requires listening, observing, and taking the time to understand what patients are experiencing.
Building Trust One Question at a Time
Trust is not built through dramatic interventions. It develops through small, consistent interactions that show patients their concerns matter.
“Patients want to know that someone is listening to them. Clinical knowledge is essential, but people also need to feel heard. When patients trust their healthcare team, they are more comfortable asking questions, sharing concerns, and becoming active participants in their own care,” Hacker says.
In oncology pharmacy, where patients often face complex treatment regimens and significant side effects, this trust becomes critical. Patients who feel comfortable communicating with their pharmacist are more likely to report adverse reactions, ask about symptom management, and follow through with their medication schedules.
Hacker emphasizes that trust is earned gradually, not given automatically. “Trust is something you earn one conversation at a time. It grows when patients know you will answer their questions honestly, explain things clearly, and take the time to understand what they are experiencing.”
Learning to Lead by Staying Curious
Hacker’s path to pharmacy leadership began with a career change. Before entering healthcare, he earned a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from Baylor University. He graduated Cum Laude in 2012, but soon faced a difficult reality.
“Before I graduated from Baylor with my Bachelor of Music, I recognized a harsh reality: I was not talented enough to make a decent living as a pianist. This realization led me to pursue Pharmacy as a career, which I was a much better fit for,” he recalls.
He returned to school at the University of Louisiana Monroe, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Pharmaceutical Science in 2015 and a Doctor of Pharmacy degree in 2018. That willingness to change direction shaped his approach to leadership.
“I used to think success came from getting everything right. Now I think it comes from continuing to learn, staying curious, and helping the people around you do their jobs well,” Hacker says.
His leadership roles have included directing pharmacy operations for multiple hospital facilities, managing a 340B drug pricing program, implementing remote order entry coverage, and establishing new processes for sterile compounding compliance. In each setting, he focused on creating systems that supported both staff and patients.
A Framework for Building Trust in Patient Care
Trust is not abstract. It is built through intentional actions that can be applied by any healthcare professional working directly with patients.
Copy This Framework: Five Phases to Strengthen Patient Trust
Phase 1: Create space for questions. At the start of every interaction, invite patients to share concerns. Ask open-ended questions like “What worries you most about this medication?” or “Is there anything that has been confusing?” This signals that their input matters.
Phase 2: Listen without rushing. Avoid interrupting or finishing sentences. Give patients time to express themselves fully. When people feel heard, they are more likely to share critical details about symptoms, side effects, or medication adherence challenges.
Phase 3: Explain clearly, then confirm understanding. Use plain language to describe how medications work, what side effects to watch for, and when to call for help. After explaining, ask the patient to repeat the key points in their own words. This ensures nothing is lost in translation.
Phase 4: Document and follow up. Keep notes on patient concerns and follow up during the next visit. A simple question like “How did that new medication work for you?” shows that you remember their situation and care about the outcome.
Phase 5: Build relationships over time. Trust deepens through repeated positive interactions. Consistency matters more than perfection. Show up, listen, and follow through, even when schedules are tight.
Quick Wins: Small Actions That Build Trust Immediately
-
Greet patients by name and make eye contact.
-
Repeat important instructions in writing.
-
Offer to call patients a few days after starting a new medication.
-
Acknowledge when you do not know the answer and commit to finding out.
-
Validate patient concerns instead of dismissing them.
Red Flags: Signs That Trust Is Breaking Down
-
Patients stop asking questions or seem withdrawn.
-
They nod along but do not follow medication instructions.
-
They avoid eye contact or give short, guarded answers.
-
They express frustration about past experiences with other providers.
-
They miss appointments or stop picking up prescriptions without explanation.
Rethinking Success in Healthcare
Hacker’s view of success has evolved over the years. Early in his career, he measured success by outcomes. Now, he focuses on growth and learning.
“In the past, I measured success by outcomes, but more recently, I realized that the best measure of success is how you grow and learn from any experience,” he says.
He also believes that professional achievement should not come at the expense of personal well-being. “I think you should devote no more than 40% of your time to achieving professional success, and the other 60% should be spent on personal life (family, relationships, self-care, entertainment, church, hobbies, etc.).”
This philosophy shapes how he approaches both leadership and patient care. Success is not about appearing flawless. It is about showing up consistently, learning from mistakes, and helping others do the same.
Apply This Framework This Week
Trust is not built in a single moment. It is built through small, intentional actions repeated over time. Whether you work in a retail pharmacy, a hospital, or a specialty clinic, you have opportunities every day to strengthen the relationships that make healthcare work.
This week, choose one phase from the framework and apply it to your patient interactions. Create space for questions. Listen without rushing. Explain clearly and confirm understanding. Document concerns and follow up. Build relationships over time.
Your patients are watching. They are listening. They are deciding whether to trust you. What you do in the next conversation matters.
About Austen Hacker
Austen Hacker, Pharm.D., is a licensed pharmacist in Arkansas with experience across retail, hospital, institutional, ambulatory, and oncology pharmacy settings. His career includes serving as Director of Pharmacy at Mississippi County Hospital System, where he managed two hospital pharmacies and one oncology pharmacy. He also opened and managed an oncology pharmacy and a surgery center pharmacy during his tenure at CARTI Cancer Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. Before entering pharmacy, he earned a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from Baylor University. He is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.
About Author
Disclaimer: The views, suggestions, and opinions expressed here are the sole responsibility of the experts. No Digi Observer journalist was involved in the writing and production of this article.
Press Release
From Karmayogi to the World Stage: Dr. Hemant Garg Wins “Excellence in AI for Public Policy”, Charts India’s Path to the AI Big League
Civil servant, researcher and AI pioneer tells the 3rd World AI Summit, Bengaluru, that people-first, sovereign AI can make India a global AI leader
Bengaluru, India, 16th October 2026, ZEX PR WIRE — Dr. Hemant Garg, Deputy Director (Legal), Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India, received the “Excellence in AI for Public Policy” award at the 3rd World AI Summit in Bengaluru on 14–15 October 2026, placing an Indian public-policy voice at the centre of the global debate on how AI should serve people.
Dr. Garg described all of his work, from AI agents for government to AI-led labour law outreach, as an effort to help realise Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of Viksit Bharat@2047, under the leadership of Hon’ble Union Labour and Employment Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, whose Shramev Jayate reforms, Labour Codes and Ease of Doing Business drive set the direction. The goal, he said, is an Atmanirbhar Bharat in AI, built on a Bharat AI Stack: Indian large language models such as Sarvam, the Bhashini platform serving citizens in their own languages, and home-grown agents and talent under the IndiaAI Mission, taking India into the global AI league.
Held with Digital India, the National e-Governance Division (NeGD) and the Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM) as partners in Bengaluru, India’s startup, IT and now AI capital, often called India’s Silicon Valley, the Summit was themed “AI for All: Accelerating India’s Journey Towards Inclusive, Responsible and Future-Ready AI”.
The award honours his creation in 2023 of “IFSCA Karmayogi”, the first AI agent at the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), GIFT City, and his research on AI in anti-money laundering, the Labour Codes and algorithmic management of gig workers.
On the panel “AI for All – India’s Journey to a Sovereign, Inclusive AI Future”, with Shri Aman Mittal, IAS, Dr. BVRC Purushottam, IAS and Prof. (Dr.) T. G. Sitharam, former Chairman, AICTE, moderated by Dr. Ravi Gupta, Dr. Garg said inclusive AI must include the worker, and that India can blend Europe’s rights-based approach, US-style audits and Singapore’s skilling model through its Labour Codes, the DPDP Act and e-Shram.
His keynote, “AI, Employment & Skills: Building a Future-Ready Workforce for India”, presented as “From Files to Foresight”, began with a worker disabled in an accident, or a family that has lost its breadwinner, whose care and pensions depend on ESIC, EPFO, the Ministry of Labour and Employment and the National Health Authority. “The true test of AI in government is how quickly that family receives its benefits, and whether it is treated with dignity on the way,” he said.
He traced three waves of governance: e-Governance, which put paper online; Digital Governance, built on India’s digital public infrastructure; and now AI-enabled Intelligent Governance, where benefits reach eligible citizens without their having to apply.
Dr. Garg propounded that AI will change tasks first, then jobs, then institutions and the workforce, and called for institutions for AI governance, impact assessment and exposure mapping to curb job attrition, support reskilling and compensate workers in transition. e-Shram, ESIC and EPFO, now reaching gig and platform workers, can extend social security to those left out, while indigenous models such as Sarvam and Bhashini can grow home-grown AI talent under the IndiaAI Mission.
Government AI, he said, must be lawful, explainable and accountable; “a pattern is not proof”; and India must guard against a new colonisation “not by ships, but by servers”. He proposed “Five Ts”: Trust, Transparency, Talent, Thin and safe data, and Tested-then-scaled.
An LLB, LLM and Ph.D., and an IIT Delhi CTO Programme alumnus with nearly two decades in public service, including Punjab’s Department of Cooperation, Dr. Garg has researched digital governance in governments and cooperatives extensively; his work is published internationally, taught in universities and presented at Oxford, Harvard and Cambridge.
“Not artificial intelligence replacing governance, but intelligent governance that remains deeply human,” he concluded.
Connect with Dr. Hemant Garg on LinkedIn: https://in.linkedin.com/in/dr-hemant-garg-2b26699
About Author
Disclaimer: The views, suggestions, and opinions expressed here are the sole responsibility of the experts. No Digi Observer journalist was involved in the writing and production of this article.
Press Release
ShippingContainersNow.com Now Offers 48-Hour Container Dispatch From 15 Depots Nationwide
ShippingContainersNow.com has launched an upgraded online store offering certified new and used shipping containers with 48-hour dispatch from 15 regional depots, alongside turnkey container offices, refrigerated units, and container pool installations shipped to all 50 states in the USA.
Los Angeles, California, United States, 17th Oct 2026 — Buying a shipping container used to mean calling around to depots, waiting days for a quote, and hoping the delivery company showed up on time. ShippingContainersNow.com was built to change that.
The company, which has been operating since 2016, has upgraded its online store to let customers across all 50 states browse, select, and order containers directly — without the back-and-forth. Inventory includes 20ft and 40ft units in new and used condition, refrigerated containers, open-side models, container offices, and container pools, with most orders dispatched within 48 hours of purchase.
“We kept hearing the same thing from customers — they didn’t know where to start, or they’d get a quote and then hear nothing for a week,” said James Harlow, Founder and CEO. “We wanted to fix that. You should be able to buy a container the same way you buy anything else online — see what’s available, know what it costs, and get it delivered.”
The site currently lists over 100 container options across multiple grades and configurations. Every unit is wind and watertight (WWT) certified and inspected for structural integrity before it ships. Customers also get a tracking link once their order is dispatched and a call from the driver before delivery — something Harlow says his team added after customer feedback.
Delivery is handled through a network of 15 regional depots across the country, which keeps rates lower than competitors working out of a single location. Larger orders can be moved via rail freight for bulk purchases.
Beyond standard storage containers, the company also supplies refrigerated conex units for cold-chain storage, modular container offices built out with insulation, electrical, and HVAC, and container pools that arrive ready to connect and fill. Harlow says demand for the conversion side of the business has grown steadily over the past two years.
“People are getting creative with these things,” he said. “We’ve sold containers that became farm offices, pop-up shops, event bars, and backyard pools. The storage side is always steady, but the conversion requests keep growing.”
The company’s blog also covers buying guides, size comparisons, price breakdowns, and delivery tips — aimed at first-time buyers who aren’t sure where to start.
ShippingContainersNow.com can be reached at sales@shippingcontainersnow.com. The full product catalog is available at https://shippingcontainersnow.com/shop.
Media Contact
Organization: ShippingContainersNow
Contact Person: James Harlow
Website: https://shippingcontainersnow.com
Email: Send Email
Contact Number: +13232851569
Address: 2100 E Anaheim St
Address 2: unit 14
City: Los Angeles
State: California
Country: United States
Release id: 49991
View source version on King Newswire:
ShippingContainersNow.com Now Offers 48-Hour Container Dispatch From 15 Depots Nationwide
About Author
Disclaimer: The views, suggestions, and opinions expressed here are the sole responsibility of the experts. No Digi Observer journalist was involved in the writing and production of this article.
The new site sorts AI writers on Medium by topic and pairs the directory with short guides on how to judge a writer before following.
United States, 17th Oct 2026 — BestAINews has launched as a directory of AI writers on Medium, built for readers who want to follow AI news through the people who write about it in depth. The site opens with a featured list of authors, groups more writers by topic, and links each card to the author’s own Medium page.
AI news no longer comes from a handful of outlets. It is spread across X threads, YouTube channels, podcasts, LinkedIn posts and long-form essays, and much of it comes from individual creators. Short posts are easy to scan; longer analysis is harder to find. For readers who want that depth, the challenge is deciding whose writing to follow, and whether a writer is still publishing at all.
Why Medium, and how the directory is organized
BestAINews starts from that wider picture. Its research notes look at where AI creators publish and which subjects draw the most attention, from machine-learning engineering to generative AI.
The directory then focuses on Medium, a natural home for long-form AI writing. Beyond the featured list, writers are sorted into sections such as GEO and AI visibility; product, growth, pricing and GTM; and enterprise agents and builders.
Readers who want to judge an author for themselves can use the site’s guides on reading creator metrics, or a five-point check that asks whether a profile belongs to a person or a publication, when it last posted, and whether its topic stays consistent.
Two featured writers, two kinds of AI writing
Among the featured authors, Ken follows AI products and industry moves, the kind of commentary readers look for when a new model or feature ships. A recent essay, An AI Left a Note for Its Next Self, examines why handoff notes between AI agents need traceable records.
Grace takes a more hands-on angle, writing guides for everyday users choosing AI tools. One example is Open-Source AI Video Generators: How to Compare Models, Weights, Licenses, and Hardware. Both sit alongside the topic sections on the BestAINews homepage, where readers can browse every author card.
The site is built for readers who follow AI news every day, content and marketing teams looking for topic ideas and industry viewpoints, and researchers and developers tracking a specific area of AI.
“AI news isn’t in short supply. Attention is,” said james Founder, BestAINews. “Most readers don’t need another feed. They need a clear picture of who is writing about AI, and a quick way to judge a writer for themselves. We built BestAINews as that starting point, and we leave the final call to the reader.”
About BestAINews
BestAINews is a directory of AI writers on Medium. It organizes curated authors by topic, links each card to the writer’s own Medium profile, and publishes guides on reading creator metrics and checking a writer before following. Learn more at bestainews.org.
Media Contact
James
Founder, BestAINews
contact@bestainews.org
Media Contact
Organization: BestAINews
Contact Person: James
Website: https://bestainews.org/
Email: Send Email
Country: United States
Release id: 49953
View source version on King Newswire:
AI News Directory Launches to Help Readers Find AI Writers Worth Following
About Author
Disclaimer: The views, suggestions, and opinions expressed here are the sole responsibility of the experts. No Digi Observer journalist was involved in the writing and production of this article.
From Karmayogi to the World Stage: Dr. Hemant Garg Wins “Excellence in AI for Public Policy”, Charts India’s Path to the AI Big League
ShippingContainersNow.com Now Offers 48-Hour Container Dispatch From 15 Depots Nationwide
AI News Directory Launches to Help Readers Find AI Writers Worth Following
Benzinga Money Article Discusses How to Become Part of the 12% of Retirees Who Have Achieved the Recommended $550,000 Minimum Retirement Savings Threshold
Apu Apustaja Conquers New York with Lively Street Ads, Including Times Square Billboard
Bay Smokes Maintains Quality Amid Legislative Changes in the Hemp Industry
-
Press Release7 days ago
Malmö Project Outlines Business Proposal Development and Project Funds Management Activities in the Netherlands
-
Press Release1 week ago
Evolution Metals & Technologies Corp. Raises Fiscal 2026 Revenue Guidance 62% at Midpoint to $10–$11 Million and Reaffirms $400–$460 Million Fiscal 2027 Outlook
-
Press Release3 days ago
INmune Bio Inc. and Quantum Computing Inc. Partner to Apply Quantum Optimization and AI to Advance Alzheimer’s Drug Research and Explore New Applications for XPro
-
Press Release2 days ago
Exhibit at CES 2027: Showcasing GENCHI, the Immersive Avatar Service Called Crazy by a U.S. Angel Investor
-
Press Release5 days ago
Beyond the Customs Declaration: Gorian Aduanas Takes a Specialist, Bespoke Approach to Customs Clearance and Complex International Imports
-
Press Release1 week ago
Accountsuspension.com Expands Advanced Enterprise Recovery Solutions to Shield Global E-Commerce Sellers and Digital Entrepreneurs from Revenue Collapse
-
Press Release1 week ago
ChannelLetter.com Opens Factory-Direct Wholesale Channel Letters to Sign Shops With No Minimum Order
-
Press Release1 week ago
Arthur Murray Dance Studio Continues Longstanding Three-Step Teaching Tradition